Lessons from Walden Two

1268 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Analysis of walden

Lessons from Walden Two

Walden Two is a novel about a fictional community in present day America. The community is a Utopia of the highest standards: the people are happy and content, there is a minimum of hurtful emotions and activities, and everyone is healthy and prosperous. It is a stark contrast with the world we are living in today. So why don't we change our society to match that of Walden Two, solving all of our nation's many problems? For one thing, we do not know if a society patterned after Walden Two will work.

Walden Two is a work of fiction; such a society has never been attempted. However, even if such a society has been proven to work perfectly, our society is not prepared for such a radical change. It is human nature to resist change. Trying to immediately convert our society to Walden Two would be disastrous, even chaotic. What we can do, however, is take apart Walden Two; find the aspects that are most needed in our society today and work towards applying them. By working toward these, we become closer to the good society, even if we never fully reach it.

One of the most hazardous aspects of our society is that we are a consumer society. People are driven to spend money; the advertising industry has become a very successful and profitable industry by effectively convincing people to spend money. Many people have more money and possessions than they will ever need, while many more people will never have enough. People are driven to make as much money as possible so they can belong to a higher social class.

None of these problems exist in Walden Two; they are solved mostly by behavioral engineering. There are no social classes in Walden Two. Everyone is equal (socially and financially), and the...

... middle of paper ...

... child will draw his or her own conclusion that listening to advertising is a very poor way to make choices. Then, as the child grows up, he or she will see for his or herself proof of this idea - it does not need to be shown to the child explicitly.

The example of advertising is just one example of how a new learning system (which is a form of behavioral engineering) can be used to eliminate the problem of a consumer society. There is no reason why the same method can be used to solve all sorts of problems, for example: distribution of wealth, environmental problems, and desire for power. This is a very radical change; however, it is a lot less radical than the society proposed in Walden Two. Social change does not happen overnight; changing the learning system will take a lot of work, but it is the first step in the right direction for changing our society.

Show More
Related

  • Walden ; And, Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau

    925 Words  | 2 Pages

    When one types “walden- genre?” into a search engine, the computed guess reveals wonders; “Best guess for Walden-Genre is Autobiography, Philosophy, Fiction, Nature”.Walden is less a novel and more an account of an unusual scholarly life with flourishes. Above all, its didactic tone imparts Thoureau’s view better than any straight manifesto could ever. The most emphasized Transcendental view in the book is the harmony of nature with human world views. Walden emphasizes nature’s ability to transform and impart wisdom and sprituality, much like its writer.

    Read More

  • walden two

    815 Words  | 2 Pages

    In B.F. Skinner’s Walden Two, Skinner presents many positive changes to society in his utopia, such as: division of labor, encouragement of perusing your own interests in education, and absolute equality.

    Read More

  • Walden Two: A Utopian Written By B. F. Skinner

    1095 Words  | 3 Pages

    Frazier explains to his guests that the children are taken care of and monitored by the whole community. The community experiments to find the best methods of behavioral engineering and uses them on the children. From an early age the children are conditioned to practice self-control and disregard certain unwanted emotions such as envy. They accomplish this with several trials. After this tour, the group heads back for lunch. After lunch, they fulfill their daily labor credits. At dinner, Frazier declares that Walden Two should succeed because it is based on experimental behavioral engineering and not on the faulty bases of other unsuccessful utopias. After dinner, the group debates several potential issues of Walden Two. However, they find no real issues. Following the discussion Burris goes out to smoke. He realizes that his urge to smoke has decreased after staying at Walden Two. While he is smoking Steve and Mary tell him they are considering staying at Walden Two. Burris endorses this and begins to wonder if he could do the

    Read More

  • Behaviorism: Walden Two by B.F. Skinner

    1259 Words  | 3 Pages

    Walden Two was memorable as a community, not for its individuals. Its people were a mass of subjects, and Frazier did not admit that there were people who could not be made to conform. Schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s were medical problems that could not be ignored and they threw the idea of “nurture, not nature” on which Frazier’s concepts rested, entirely off-balance. Behaviorism could not control every single aspect of life; that would be like trying to teach someone with no right arm to knit using his hands. And Castle knew that if he could resent being treated as part of a unit instead of a unique individual, millions of others would, too.

    Read More

  • The Anarchiste in Walden Two by Skinner

    1322 Words  | 3 Pages

    In this time we must fully realize the true origins of our society, not the so called “party line” they feed us. True, while few of us find sanctuary in hidden places, what place is there for we strangelings? Is absolute equality truly a good idea? In our new world, our Walden Two, we are taught from an early age to behave, to conform. From our glass cages at birth, to our debuts at age seven, to our eventual marriages, all we do is in the name of a peaceful, simple existence. We are taught that anger is not allowed, faith in God is not allowed, anything harmful is forbidden! I ask of you, is this truly a life, much less, a life worth living?

    Read More

  • Graduation Speech

    429 Words  | 1 Pages

    When I was in elementary school, I loved to read. I was a total nerd back then ... okay maybe I still am, but one thing has changed. Now I don't so much like reading. My favorite poet was Shel Silverstein, who wrote "Where the Sidewalk Ends." He seemed like he was a total hippie, but that's cool because I like hippies. My grandma is a recovering hippie. I like her too. Anyway, Shel Silverstein wrote about the coolest things. He wrote about magical erasers, eating whales and a boy with long hair flying away from people who were taunting him. He captured all of the things that I loved without knowing that I actually loved them. Now you may ask, how does this hippie relate to our graduation? Well, he wrote a poem entitled "Traffic Light" and this is how it goes:

    Read More

  • The Kind Of Life In Henry David Thoreau's Life?

    557 Words  | 2 Pages

    Have you ever woke up in the morning and asked yourself, “Why am I living this life?” Throughout the book of Walden, Henry David Thoreau questions the lifestyles that people choose; he makes his readers wonder if they have chosen the kind of lifestyle that give them the greatest amount of happiness. Thoreau stated, “Most men, even in this comparatively free country, through mere ignorance and mistake, are so occupied with the factitious cares and superfluously coarse labors of life that its finer fruits cannot be plucked by them().” This quote is important because most of society these days are so caught up in work and trying to make ends meet that they lose the values in life. Thoreau was forced to change his life when he found himself unhappy after a purchase for a farm fell through. On Thoreau’s journey he moves to Walden and builds a house and life from nothing but hard work, symbolizes many different objects.

    Read More

  • Graduation Speech

    1204 Words  | 3 Pages

    Good evening. Some of you out there may not realize this but those of you who attended Suntime Middle School have been with this guy for the last seven years. I would like to ask you all, not just Suntime Middle School grads and who all else, to join me in thanking Mr. Weather for his patience and dedication to the success of our education over the years. We are the Class of 2000. The first graduating class of the new millennium. The past four years have been pretty wild. We started out as a bunch of rats in a small cage, but as time went by we learned and matured and became big rats in a new small cage, but in any case, the cage door is now opening; the handlers turning us wild things loose. As we leave "Where the Wild Things Are," home to some of the best cat fights, fist fights and food fights this side of the Cascades, I have a little surprise for all of you sitting in front of me here tonight in your caps and gowns … we ain’t seen nothing yet!

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Transcendentalism In Thoreau

    1034 Words  | 3 Pages

    Silence fills the air. A man in his late 20’s lies in a handmade hut in a private 14 acre woodlot known as Walden Pond. Two essays are strewn across the mossy floor: Self Reliance and Nature. Suddenly, footsteps could be heard outside. It turns out that the man’s mother came with freshly baked cookies and some food for breakfast. Later on that day, more footsteps could be heard. Outside, a group of people had emerged, looking for the young man. Once again, the tranquility of Walden Pond was broken. This man was Thoreau and he was “exploring” the modest life of simplicity by separating himself from society. Living alone in the wilderness is a great way to discover nature and to understand the need for simplicity. In a world filled with bustle

    Read More

  • Robert Scholes on Video Texts - Comparison

    2393 Words  | 5 Pages

    In the end, I find that Robert Scholes is correct in his conclusion that commercials hold a certain power, with which they can alter our decisions whether or not to buy a product. Through visual fascination, we are offered images we could never have on our own; through narrativity, we are told what to think and how to think it; and finally through cultural relativity we connect with the rest of the world. When these three forces are combined by advertising, our brains cannot help themselves, we allow ourselves to become brainwashed by corporate America. This is why Robert Scholes feels that Reading a Video Text should be taught in school.

    Read More

  • Consumerism and Faith

    994 Words  | 2 Pages

    Consumerism is the idea that influences people to purchase items in great amounts. Consumerism makes trying to live the life of a “perfect American” rather difficult. It interferes with society by replacing the normal necessities for life with the desire for things with not much concern for the true value of the desired object. Children are always easily influenced by what they watch on television. Swimme suggests in his work “How Do Kids Get So Caught Up in Consumerism” that although an advertiser’s objective is to make money, the younger generation is being manipulated when seeing these advertisements. Before getting a good understanding of a religion, a child will have seen and absorbed at least 30,000 advertisements. The amount of time teenagers spend in high school is lesser than the amount of advertisement that they have seen (155). The huge amount of advertisements exposed to the younger generation is becomi...

    Read More

  • Advertising at the Edge of the Apocalypse, by Sut Jhally

    1091 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sut Jhally, a professor at the university of Massachusetts of whom won the distinguished teacher award, wrote in his essay “ Advertising at the Edge of the Apocalypse” that : 20th century advertising - the most powerful propaganda in human history - will destroy the world as we know it. The survival of the human race will depend upon our ability to minimize the harmful effects of Advertising. These effects will have lasting impacts on our culture, joy, and future.

    Read More

  • The Code Of Gender: Identity And Performance In Pop Culture

    706 Words  | 2 Pages

    Many companies spend over millions of dollars advertising every year, and these advertisements influence how an individual thinks and acts in a society. It becomes a significant aspect of our lives whether it has come to our acknowledgment or not. It influences us to the extent we believe the information presented in the media are “normal”. To be precise, advertisements create and define the social norms. These concepts are strongly built into my mind since a young age, especially the gender roles between men and women.

    Read More

  • Graduation Speech: It's All About Time

    948 Words  | 2 Pages

    A long time ago in what seems like another lifetime, we were once little children watching the blinking TV while we sat eating Mac and Cheese without a care in the world. So much time has passed since then, how quickly time flies. Now, instead of walking to the bus for our first day of kindergarten, we are walking across this stage for our diplomas - I think everyone will agree that it's all about time.

    Read More

  • Advertising and Its Impact on Children

    1554 Words  | 4 Pages

    The textbook used in class (Huffman, 2002) describes that “advertising has numerous” methods to hook the individual into “buying their products and services.” The advertising. company surrounds a particular candidate such as a child and immediately sinks their teeth into the child’s mind to manipulate the child into desiring their products. Through TV, cartoons and magazine ads, children are hit by one subliminal message after another. They are shown how this product will improve their status by making them the envy of all their friends.

    Read More

More about Lessons from Walden Two

Open Document